After carrying the ball 25 times for 86 yards in the Vikings' win over the San Francisco 49ers, running back Adrian Peterson could be in line for more work against the Detroit Lions.

Coach Leslie Frazier gave Toby Gerhart the final eight carries of Minnesota's 24-13 victory Sunday, Sept. 23, wanting to rest Peterson with the game seemingly under control. But Gerhart fumbled three times in those eight carries, losing two, and has spent the week working on ball control before the Vikings head to Detroit.

Frazier said the Vikings could have given Peterson more work last week, adding that the team hasn't determined a set number of carries for him. And Peterson said the workload helped him get back to normal after the Vikings had limited him while he returned from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

"I woke up Monday after this game, and I felt like I played some football," he said Thursday. "I feel like the rust is knocked off now. That's what I needed, and I'll be ready to roll even better."

Peterson carried 58 times in the Vikings' first three games, but his workload hasn't been any lower than in recent years when he's been healthy. In the first three games of the past three seasons, he carried 58, 59 and 65 times.

Peterson said he has felt stronger each week, adding he's recovering faster from the previous game.

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And though he wouldn't pronounce himself 100 percent healthy, he didn't feel like he was far away.

"When I look in the mirror, I'm like, 'OK, my right leg is obviously bigger than my left,' " he said. "I know it's not as strong as far as different things that I do. That's when I'll be able to tell, when I won't be able to tell the difference between the strength of both legs."

Briefly

Quarterback Christian Ponder was a limited participant in practice because of a neck injury but is expected to play Sunday. Safety Andrew Sendejo (ankle) missed practice after being a limited participant Wednesday. ... The Vikings waived tight end Allen Reisner, making room for wide receiver Jerome Simpson to return from his three-game suspension. Reisner played in all three games this season but hadn't caught a pass. ... Special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer said the Vikings could have done a better job staying in their lanes on Kyle Williams' 94-yard kickoff return Sunday but added he wasn't planning any personnel changes on kickoff coverage. "I'm not going to hit the panic button, because we were so good the first two weeks," he said. "We learned a lot about ourselves, that we're not quite where we need to be or where we think we are."